ameliorate
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Usage
What are other ways to say ameliorate?
To ameliorate is to make or become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory. How is it different from the verbs improve and better? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
- ameliorable adjective
- ameliorableness noun
- ameliorant noun
- ameliorative adjective
- ameliorator noun
- amelioratory adjective
- unameliorable adjective
Etymology
Origin of ameliorate
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Exercising for two hours a day can partially ameliorate this issue, but it doesn’t prevent the problem entirely.
From Slate • Mar. 1, 2026
It suggests something more uncomfortable: that how protests are conducted determines whether they clarify and ameliorate injustice or obscure and perpetuate it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026
The attempt to ameliorate market tension came quick.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 13, 2025
Some legislation has been proposed to ameliorate the concerns, or at least lay the legal groundwork for an unconventional quick-turn census.
From Salon • Aug. 15, 2025
No matter how sedulously Ben and Mary Anne prepared for the nightmare, nothing could ameliorate their discomfort at entering a new high school for their annual pilgrimage among strangers.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
